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A spectre is haunting Ireland -- the spectre of James Connolly.
Connolly was executed by a British firing squad for his role in Ireland's 1916 Easter Rising for home rule. Celebrated as a hero of Irish independence by political parties of both the left and right in Ireland, his socialism is all too conveniently overlooked.
Concern for the plight of others is normal; it is part of being human. People recognize what it means for someone else to be cold or wet, or face thirst or hunger. Accounts of what we should do as a society have a place for empathy. The over-arching political philosophies, conservatism, liberalism and socialism are built around ideas of what responsibilities citizens have (and do not have) to each other, though this does not mean it is easy to reach agreements about how to provide shelter, and sustenance to those in need.